So I believe the fresh guidance I've been given suggesting that Toronto -- as we stand some 230 days away from free agency -- is Bosh's most likely destination for the 2010-11 season and beyond.

If the Raps' season unravels and they fail to make the playoffs -- after an expensive summer of renovations highlighted by the acquisition of Hedo Turkoglu and Bosh's best friend from college (Jarrett Jack) -- then things could obviously change again. And I don't think anything written here will prevent teams from lobbing in trade offers for Bosh between now and the trade deadline in February, which could always change the Raptors' plans.

But if you're asking me today to predict what happens with Bosh next summer, I say he stays. Every indication I get is that Bosh likes his current setup in Canada much more than us Yankee outsiders imagine.

As recently as mid-September, I think it's fair to say the consensus was that Bosh was the big name most likely to leave his current team in the summer. But all of our checking with Raptors insiders suggests otherwise.

Teammates Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani recently have made public declarations of their belief that Bosh loves Toronto as a city and doesn't want to leave, which meshes with everything I've heard in the past week. The distinct feeling I was left with is that Bosh wants to be the undisputed star on his team and wants to play in a happening metropolis he enjoys. The Raptors and Toronto can make those things happen.

Even if an attractive sign and trade option doesn't end up on the table and Bosh walks, we'll have the cap space to sign a high quality free agent next summer. I'm pretty confident that with Turk, Jose and Bargs we've got the personnel to lure a very good player here.

Even if an attractive sign and trade option doesn't end up on the table and Bosh walks, we'll have the cap space to sign a high quality free agent next summer. I'm pretty confident that with Turk, Jose and Bargs we've got the personnel to lure a very good player here.

Excellent point. Raptors are in a no lose situation. We dont need to give Bosh's mother a parking spot in hopes he will be happy.

Frankly, I think Bosh wants to stay and finish what he started. Unless it's a complete clusterfukk by March.

Now just to be clear - Bosh isn't dicking anyone around by waiting for free agency. If he just floated through the season, then I could see how that idea would apply. But he made his intentions clear when he signed the last deal. He's looking to maximize his returns. It's entirely up to Colangelo whether that happens here, or he helps him make it happen elsewhere with the right pieces coming back in return. There's no need for him to feel like he's being dicked around, and I doubt that he does feel that way. Actually, if he does, he's in the wrong job.

Originally Posted by lilromee
Let me ask you guys this question, this is off-topic, why the Leafs didn't use the sign-and-trade deal for Sundin? They just let him go.

Reponse

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoGood

Sundin had a no trade clause and can veto any trade to anywhere he didn't want to go.

If I am misinterpreting the inital question and the subsequent response, then just disregard my post. Even if I misinterpreted the question, I fell like writing this out anyway because someone might find it useful. I think lilromee was asking why the Leafs didn't do a sign and trade with Vancouver once Sundin had already decided to play with the Canucks. You're right, SoGood, he did have a no trade clause before he became a free agent, but that technically wouldn't prevent a sign and trade with Vancouver once the contract expired, since Sundin wanted to play with the Canucks. I think the difference between the Sundin and Bosh situations has more to do with the structure of the NHL and NBA's salary caps and the regulations of each league's collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Due to the NHL's CBA, Sundin did not need the Leafs to get the best contract. Consequently, the Canucks had no reason to give the Leafs anything, because signing Sundin outright was not going to hurt Sundin or the chances of him coming to Vancouver. The only teams that would have been willing to do a sign and trade with the Leafs are those teams that were not far enough under the cap to provide Sundin with the money he wanted. Those teams would have needed to shed salary in order to create the cap space needed for Sundin's contract. That was not a problem for the Canucks, so no need for them to give the Leafs anything.

Sign and trades are also more frequent in the NBA due to several regulations of the CBA. Unlike Sundin with the Leafs, Bosh needs the Raptors to sign him in order to get the best possible contract, since the NBA's CBA dictates that the team holding his birds rights can give him the most lucrative contract. That regulation, then, is what leads NBA players to work with their former teams to get a sign and trade accomplished. If Bosh wants the fattest contract possible, he needs to work with Colangelo in order to make that happen. If a team looking to pick up Bosh doesn't have the cap space to sign him, then they will need Colangelo, too, since a trade is the only way they can get him. Even if a team has adequate cap space, there are reasons to work with Colangelo. First, keeping Bosh happy by helping him get the max deal. The other reason is a little more complicated (this is where you see a huge difference between the NHL and the NBA). Additional difficulties posed by the NBA salary cap SOMETIMES provide the team picking up a new star player, in this case Bosh, with an incentive to participate in a sign and trade. If a team picks up Bosh by participating in a sign and trade rather than signing Bosh outright as a free agent, it could allow his new team more flexibility with respect to the salary cap by letting them sign other players with the exception clauses, and let the the new team keep the birds rights on some players. Let's use the Turkoglu situation as a concrete example of how Toronto has benefited from such a scenario. If the Raps had signed Turkoglu as a free agent, that would have meant Colangelo lost the right to go over the salary cap in order to re-sign the Raps own palyers (birds rights allow you to sign your own players over the cap), such as Anthony Parker or Shaw Marion. In addition to that, the Raps would lose the right to use the Mid-level exception (MLE) and the bi-annual exception (BAE), which are only available to teams who aren't signing non-exception free agents. If a team is willing to spend money to be competitive, like the Raps did this summer, losing the MLE and BAE can be a kick in the teeth. By signing Turkoglu through a sign and trade, the Raps were able to keep the MLE and BAE to get Jack and Rasho, as well as sign Marion who they flipped to the Mavericks to get more bench depth. If AP had waited a week, the Raps could have re-signed him, too. As you can see, there was a huge incentive for the Raps to work out a sign and trade for Turk. A team looking to acquire Bosh may find themselves with similar incentives to work with Colangelo.

Sorry if my response is longwinded and convoluted. The NBA's CBA is longwinded and convoluted. This is exactly why some GMs metaphorically rape other GMs in trades. And it's also why some trades seem really ridiculous and lopsided at times. Now I am just ranting.